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Meet the Staff

The OEM Mission: To promote, coordinate and direct a comprehensive emergency management program which addresses mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery relative to disaster and major emergencies. OEM shall serve as the focal point for all such activities within Davidson County.

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Kevin Penney, OEM Deputy Director
A member of OEM since its creation in 1992, Kevin is responsible for day-to-day management of OEM, operational readiness, enforcement of policies and procedures and ensuring OEM projects are in accordance with objectives. He is the director of Metro's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and serves on the Mayor's Situation Management Team when activated.. He has written and trained officials on a multitude of contingency, hazard and site-specific plans such as the multi-departmental response plans for the Sommet Center and LP Field, various anti-terrorism response plans, the central business district's evacuation plan, urban search and rescue, three previous editions of the city's Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) and many others. Kevin has directed more than two dozen local disaster exercises since 1992 and coordinated local recovery efforts during six presidential disaster declarations. Kevin earned a bachelor of science degree from Middle Tennessee State University in 1990. He serves on the Metro Emergency Communications Center (9-1-1) board of directors, the State Homeland Security District 5 Emergency Manager's Task Force and is project manager and lead advisor for the Nashville area Urban Security Initiative (UASI). Kevin is a member of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) and State Capitals Organized for Protecting America (SCOPA).

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Teresa Brown, Grants Coordinator
Since 2004 Teresa has been responsible for all activities involving grants and purchased program services, including evaluating all OEM grants and service contracts. She also oversees the department’s RFP (Request For Proposals) process. During her 13 years of service with the office, she has also served in the capacity of Secretary, Hazard Mitigation Coordinator, Operations Supervisor, IT Coordinator and Resource Coordinator.

 

 

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Bernice Cosby, Office Administrator
Bernice performs a multitude of complex and varied office administrative and budgetary functions in support of the OEM Chief Finance Officer and other office management. Her duties also include tracking and reconciling billings and payments; assisting with grant functions; and procurements.

 

 

 

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Barbara Gmerek, Chief Finance Officer
Barbara manages and provides direct oversight to administrative staff regarding OEM's operating budget, various grant programs, accounts payable and receivable, procurement, and accounting, as well as ensuring compliance with established reporting and audit requirements. Barbara is a six year veteran of Metro, previous working at Metro Parks and Recreation and Metro Payment Services. She holds a BBA in Accounting from Tennessee State University.

 

 

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Scott Harris, Program Manager 2
Scott's primary job is to assist in the day-to-day management of OEM operations and coordinate activities and mission objectives of OEM's program coordinators. He is often among the first OEM personnel on the scene of a major incident and is responsible for assessing the community impact of flooding, power outages, hazardous materials spills and other incidents; and working with various agencies to provide the needed resources. Scott works closely with Metro health and public safety departments and, over the years, has helped establish the Urban Search and Rescue Task Force into a state-recognized emergency response team. He has also led the development of the mobile Emergency Operation Center (EOC II) and spearheaded field operations through seven presidential emergency declarations, including the 1998 tornado recovery efforts in Nashville and other major emergencies since March of 2004.   Scott has been with OEM since 1994.

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Heidi Jordan, Exercise and Training Coordinator
Heidi develops and manages emergency drills and exercises in the Nashville/Davidson County area which includes acting as liaison with other agencies and counties/states during their exercises. She leads the Nashville Homeland Security Education Team, a group of health and public safety workers who coordinate homeland security training efforts for Nashville residents and Metro Government employees. This team most recently produced the Basic Terrorism Awareness class. Heidi is also a member of the Homeland Security District 5 education team which works in conjunction with the Nashville team. She is the point of contact for Critical Infrastructure Protection Planning and any public educational requests and/or needs. Heidi is also the OEM representative on the Disaster Medical Committee in the county, and oversees the Recovery Assistance Incident Notification victim program. In addition, she is an instructor with the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program and the Basic Terrorism Awareness class. Heidi has a degree in Criminal Justice and Business Management and has been with this office since 2003.

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Melissa Phillips, Preparedness Coordinator
Melissa’s primary responsibility is to maintain and implement the emergency management and homeland security planning program for Metro OEM. She also assembles and prepares essential data for situational assessment and development priorities for response and recovery efforts. Ms. Phillips manages the Tier II database for Metro OEM, which tracks hazardous materials in various locations/businesses throughout the city.

In addition, Melissa serves as an emergency responder. When an incident occurs that requires OEM assistance she coordinates obtaining resources needed for the operation. Melissa also participates in numerous community sponsored events each year, educating citizens about the importance of personal and family emergency preparedness.

Prior to becoming the Preparedness Coordinator, Melissa served as an operations officer since July 2002, and has completed numerous emergency management courses including Certified Program Manager.

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Amanda Sluss, Public Information Officer
Amanda’s primary responsibility is to serve as the agency’s chief public spokesperson, responding to daily information requests from the news media and informing the community of programs, services and responsibilities of the Office of Emergency Management.  She also serves in the same capacity for Metro’s Emergency Communications Center.  Amanda conducts interviews with print and broadcast media, assisting news personnel in coverage of the department, including at the scene of incidents.  She is responsible for preparing and distributing media releases, coordinating news conferences, writing and editing published materials.  Amanda also assists members of the news media with obtaining tapes of emergency calls, including 9-1-1, 862-8600 and OEM operations calls.  She advises members of the department in interacting with media representatives and coordinates with training staff to provide general media relations training to supervisory staff.

Amanda has over six years of experience in government media relations, previously serving as PIO for the Metro Police Department, the Tennessee Department of Correction, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.  She is a member of the National Information Officers Association and holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism/Public Relations from the University of Georgia.

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Frantz WaWa, Information Systems Logistics Coordinator
Frantz is responsible for maintaining the OEM local network for technology and telephone services, and coordinating projects with staff, Metro ITS and outside vendors. Also, he ensures Metro’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and mobile EOC technology and equipment readiness, including the WebEOC event management application.

 

 

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Rodonna Robinson, Operations Supervisor
Rodonna oversees the activities of six operations officers who staff OEM’s 24-hour, seven-day-a-week call center and dispatch operations. The operations center is the city’s central monitoring, notification and warning point for major emergencies and disasters. It is the coordination center for resources that are needed at the scene of an incident. OEM operations officers serve as dispatchers and answer after-hours calls for many Metro departments. Robinson supervises this division of OEM and is responsible for developing and implementing more than 100 standard operating procedures for the center. Also, Robinson oversees community awareness and public education for OEM’s “Ready Rabbit” and outdoor warning sirens programs.

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OPERATIONS OFFICERS

 

ADA Statement

The Mayor's Office of Emergency Management does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, sex, color, national origin, religion or disability in admission and access to, or operations of its programs, services and activities. The Mayor's Office of Emergency Management does not discriminate in its hiring and employment practices. If you have any questions, concerns, complaints or requests for accommodations or more information, please contact:

Kevin Penney
Mayor's Office of Emergency Management
2060 15th Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37212
(615) 862-8530